SWMP - Site Waste Management Plans
As part of our commitment to improving performance on Environmental Management Jeremy has completed a training course on Site Waste Management. This requires:
- Establishing a framework for systematically managing your waste arisings and improving resource efficiency at all stages of a project.
- Aim to reduce the amount of waste the construction industry produces, and flytipping.
- Have a mechanism for ensuring compliance with all existing legal requirements e.g. Duty of care.
At the heart of a good Site Waste Management Plan all those involved in the construction supply chain need to be committed to :
- Waste prevention
- Re-use
- Recycling and composting
- Energy recovery
- Responsible disposal
There are over 400 million tonnes of material used in the construction industry in England and Wales each year and at least 109 million tonnes of waste produced. Landscape Architects can play an important part in reducing this huge amount of waste.
Landscape works often follow on as the last part of a construction project, but the Landscape Architect can play an important part from the outset by identifying and salvaging useable materials and the designing them into the landscape scheme. Materials that have an historic connection with the site, such as heavy timbers, granite setts and other traditional paving materials have often been salvaged and reused to great effect but it's possible to use many other materials. The setting aside and proper storage of soil and the use of constructed soils from site waste can make a very significant contribution to the volume of site material that is re-used. The salvaging and processing of waste timber for composts and mulch can also be very beneficial for new planting. Inert waste and excavated material is expensive to transport off site and considerable cost savings can be made if the material can be used for ground modelling as part of the creative landscape design.
All construction projects with a value of over £300,000 must have a Site Waste Management Plan, but there is no reason why much smaller projects shouldn't follow this good practice. At Sacha Barnes we can help you by preparing your SWMP and then overseeing and monitoring the project to help achieve the measured objectives.
